Artist Statement

Hatō zu, meaning "wave" in Japanese, was created by Uehara Konen in 1910, in the midst of the Meiji Period, a moment of great change for Japanese culture and art. For the first time in centuries, Japan had opened its borders; American and European artists set sail to study the great masters of the woodblock tradition.

Waves as a subject in Japanese art, especially woodblocks, can be traced as far back as the 1600's and the beginning of the Edo period. Yet in Hatō zu we see the emergence of a modern style and new western influences, despite Uehara Konen's resistance to many of the changes around him.

The bright, saturated blues have an impressionistic styling, but also we see technology's subtly taking hold in the almost photographic composition that elegantly breaks from tradition.

Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches to allow for framing.

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Uehara Konen

Uehara
Konen was
born
in
1878
in
Asakusa,
Tokyo,
just
as
Japan
was
transforming
from
an
isolated
feudal
society
to
the
modern,
Westernized
Japan
that
we
know
today.
The
Meiji
Era,
as
this
period
is
known,
ultimately
caused
a
steady
disappearance
of
the
woodblock
print.
Konen
continued
to
create
woodblocks
despite
the
rapid
changes
around
him,
albeit
in
the
mōrō-tai
(modernist
style)
popular
from
1899
to
1909.
Part
of
the
“Sumida
River
School”
(Blue
River
School),
Konen
was
inspired
by
Western
styles
of
painting,
and
you
can
see
the
influence
in
the
colors,
photographic
perspective,
and
experimental
nature
of
his
work.... Read More

In
1907,
Konen
became
the
secretary
of
the
Kokuga
Gyokuseikai
(National
Painting
Cultivation
Society),
which
supported
a
modern
school
of
painting
in
Japan.
Konen
also
served
in
the
Imperial
Household,
the
Foreign
Ministry,
and
as
a
juror
for
the
Tokyo
Metropolitan.
He
died
on
May
24th,
1940
in
Tokyo.